


in this damn world

by meredithflynn



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (lol), Cute, Cute Louis Tomlinson, Dentists, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Harry Styles Takes Care of Louis Tomlinson, Hurt/Comfort, Just lots of fluff, M/M, Married Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Protective Harry, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wisdom Teeth, and a tiny dash of clifford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29799789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meredithflynn/pseuds/meredithflynn
Summary: louis gets his wisdom teeth removed and harry's there to take care of him through the loopiness of it all. ice cream, cuddles, and adorable goofiness ensues.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 76





	in this damn world

**Author's Note:**

> this took me an outrageously long amount of time to write, but it's finally here!! this was inspired by louis' recent tweet about getting his wisdom teeth removed, been having a bit of a rough week or two so i decided to write a little fluffy fic to cheer myself up :)
> 
> i tried to do some research but i'm sure this is chock full of medical inaccuracies, so sorry for those - please just ignore them lol. and a big thank you to sarah ([@soldouthaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldouthaz/pseuds/soldouthaz/works)) and my friend anna for helping me proofread and giving me feedback and advice!!
> 
> and thank YOU for clicking onto this story, i hope you enjoy this bit of fluff :)

Louis did not like dentists.

He never had— he didn’t like the way the dentist poked around in his mouth, he didn’t like the sharp, pointy tools they used on him, and he didn’t like how he could always taste a little blood in his mouth after every visit. He wasn’t exactly _terrified_ of dentists per se, but he still absolutely hated going.

Was it irrational and, frankly, sort of dumb that a twenty-something year old man didn’t like the dentist’s? Maybe. Did Louis care? No.

His fear wasn’t much of an issue, anyway. Admittedly, it had been more of an issue when he was younger, when he wasn’t too good at taking proper care of his teeth and his mother had to drag him, crying, to the dentist’s to take care of his not-so-clean teeth. But now he was an adult, and he brushed his teeth properly, he used his mouthwash, he flossed, and there was no real need for him to go to the dentist’s, save for maybe a checkup once a year. And Louis only agreed to going to those checkups because Harry insisted on them (also because Harry had promised to do Louis’ chores for a week after every dentist checkup).

Recently, though, something had been bothering Louis. Namely, there was a throbbing, intense pain at the back of his mouth that simply would not leave him alone. It had made him especially crabby for the past couple of days, and although Louis secretly had his sinking suspicions on what was causing the pain, he’d never admit to it, he’d never admit that—

“Your wisdom teeth are coming in, we need to go to the dentist’s so she can take a look at it and maybe we’ll get them removed.”

“My wisdom teeth are _not_ coming in!” Louis snapped at his husband, who he was cuddling with on the couch. At their feet lay Clifford, their dog, who was taking a little nap. “And I am _not_ going to the dentist’s.”

“Baby, I know you’re scared but you’ve got to go. You’ve been rubbing your cheek so much, it obviously hurts a lot,” Harry said gently, removing Louis’ hand from where it had been massaging his jaw. _Fuck_ , Louis hadn’t even realized he’d been doing it, and now he’d just been proving Harry’s point. 

“I… I don’t wanna go.” Louis slipped his hand out of Harry’s and folded his arms, his plump bottom lip sticking out. “Dentists are dumb.” 

“C’mon, honey, I’ll do your chores for a week after you go!”

“No.”

“Two weeks!”

“ _No._ ”

“Why not? You’re always okay with going to the dentist’s if I do your chores.”

“That’s different, Hazza,” Louis grumbled. “Those are just checkups. If I do actually need to get my wisdom teeth removed, they’re gonna… they’re gonna have to dig my teeth out of there.” Louis shivered at the thought. 

“It’s not that bad, they’ll give you anesthesia and you won’t even feel it, Lou.”

“Ugh. _Anesthesia_. I’m going to be loopy for the whole day and say weird shit and you’re going to film it and send it to everyone I know.”

“I mean… I won’t send the video to _everyone_.”

“Aha!” Louis jumped up, inadvertently waking Clifford up, and pointed a finger at Harry. “So you acknowledge you _are_ going to film me!”

“It would be funny!” Harry insisted, pushing Louis’ finger away and slipping his arms around Louis again so he could pull him back onto the couch. “Shh, you woke Cliffy. But I won’t film you if you don’t want me to, and you probably won’t be crazy high or anything, just a bit disorientated. Come _on_ , boo, just go to the dentist’s. Who knows, maybe you don’t have to get your teeth removed.”

“No, Hazzie, I don’t wanna,” Louis whined childishly and buried face into Harry’s chest when the pain in his mouth got particularly bad. “Ow ow ow.”

“My poor Lou,” Harry cooed, stroking Louis’ hair to distract him from the pain. “See, you’re hurting babe, you need to go to the dentist’s.”

“No I don’t.” Louis’ voice was muffled into Harry’s shirt and he peeked up at his husband hopefully. “Maybe you can kiss it better?”

Harry snorted. “Baby, I can’t kiss the back of your mouth.”

“Ugh. You’re useless.”

“Heyyy. Watch your mouth, Tomlinson,” Harry said, playfully threatening. He slowly lifted Louis off his lap and got off the couch, much to Louis’ dismay. To compensate for the loss of Harry’s cuddles, Louis instead bent down to pet and stroke the top of Clifford's head. “Here, I’ll go get you some painkillers and make you a nice cup of tea. That’ll help a little, but it’s temporary. You’ve still got to go to the dentist’s.” 

A long sigh was all Louis could muster in response. 

Louis had always found it hard to say no to Harry, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when he found himself sitting in the waiting area of the dentist’s office a couple days later.

He hadn’t come here without a fight, though— it had taken a lot of urging, prodding, and bribes from Harry to convince Louis to go. And Louis had agreed because Harry kept saying that _maybe_ Louis didn’t need to get his wisdom teeth removed at all, and maybe the dentist could do something to make the pain go away without actually having to do surgery on Louis. 

Nevertheless, Louis was quite grumpy as he sat waiting for his name to be called. Harry was holding his hand and rubbing the back of it gently, trying to calm Louis down, and Louis had to admit it was partially working.

“Y-you’re gonna be in there with me when it’s my turn, right?” Louis whispered into the taller boy’s ear. 

“Yeah of course, if they allow me I will, love,” Harry reassured him. “I’ll be right there with you.”

“Okey dokey.” Louis blew out a shaky breath. “Okey dokey.”

It turned out that Louis did actually need to get his wisdom teeth removed, which meant he was now pissed at Harry.

“You said I wouldn’t have to!” he cried accusingly in the car, once they’d left the dentist’s office. 

“Okay, I didn’t say that. I said you _maybe_ wouldn’t have to. Emphasis on _maybe_.” 

“I shouldn’t have gone. At least I could cling onto the hope that I _maybe_ wouldn’t have to,” Louis huffed, sulking in his seat. “I don’t wanna do it, H.”

“The dentist said that if you didn’t get your wisdom teeth removed, you could develop infections or cysts, and that’s gonna be even worse.” Harry pulled out of his parking spot and into the road, his eyes on the oncoming traffic. “I think you know you’ve got to do the procedure, Lou.”

“Harry— I can’t! I can’t do this.” Louis grabbed a fistful of his hair, distressed. “I-I can do a yearly checkup at the dentist’s, I can’t do a whole surgery at the dentist’s.”

“Shh, it’s okay, babe.” Harry was still focusing on the road, but stretched out a hand to rest on Louis’ thigh comfortingly. “We don’t have to make a decision now, we can go home and talk about it and figure things out, okay?”

“Okay.” Louis’ fist let go of his hair, leaving the tuft he’d grabbed sticking up. “...Hazzie?” 

“Hmm?” Harry rubbed his thumb across Louis’ thigh absentmindedly.

“Can we please go get some ice cream?”

Harry’s head turned to glance briefly at Louis. “Are you hungry? We could go for lunch instead—”

“I’m hungry for _ice cream_ ,” Louis repeated the name of the food insistently. “Ice cream!”

Harry couldn’t hold back his chuckle when he realized what Louis meant. “Aww, okay. You deserve some ice cream after being so brave and going to the dentist’s today.”

“I really do, don’t I?” Louis gave Harry a big, innocent smile. “I deserve three scoops and extra sprinkles and you’re paying.”

“See, now you’re just taking advantage of me.” Harry shook his head fondly at his cute little husband’s antics, but just like Louis, he had a hard time saying no. “But okay, okay, I’ll pay for your three scoops and extra sprinkles.”

Louis’ ice cream order was a bit more than that— he added chocolate sauce, cookie crumbles and one more scoop of ice cream. It was a substantial punch to Harry’s wallet, considering Louis had picked to go to the best (and priciest) ice cream store in the mall, but Harry had to admit Louis really did deserve it. He’d gone to the dentist’s, a place he hated, without too much of a fuss, and Harry secretly hoped that the ice cream could placate Louis and make it easier to convince him to do the surgery, but Harry knew he was going to have to do a little more more than just buy ice cream to get his husband to agree.

“I’ll do your chores for two whole weeks afterwards,” Harry promised a few days later, when Louis still persistently refused to get his wisdom teeth removed. 

“No. I told you, that’s not enough.”

“I’ll get you so much ice cream and all the foods you like!” Harry continued, “I even won’t make you eat vegetables for a week.”

“Vegetables are awful.”

Harry rolled his eyes— he’d never been able to change Louis’ outlook on leafy greens, although he secretly wouldn’t change it for anything. “They’re good for you, Lou, but whatever. If you go, I’ll give you so much love and attention that you’ll be sick of it! I’ll give you cuddles and kisses and take care of you all day, how about that?”

“Hmm.” Louis’ stance softened slightly and snuggled into Harry’s chest. “Don’t think I could ever get sick of your cuddles, Hazza.”

“Is that a yes, then?” Harry grinned triumphantly, evidently quite pleased with himself for successfully persuading his ever-so-headstrong husband. Louis wasn’t going to let Harry have all of the satisfaction, though.

“Not a yes. It’s a maybe.” 

“Mm. Basically a yes, darling.” Harry settled a small kiss onto the top of his pouting husband’s hair, and pressed another one onto his soft cheek. “We’ll book your appointment for you, then.”

“Don’t wanna do it,” Louis huffed, but his opinion now had little say in the matter since he’d already agreed and Harry was already picking up the phone to call the dentist’s office. “ _Harry_.” 

“Hmm? You’re going to be fine, Lou, you won’t even feel it and the pain in your mouth will go away once you’re done.” Harry plopped another kiss onto Louis’ head. “And I’ll make it up to you afterwards, you’ll see.”

Louis’ wisdom teeth removal was arranged to take place on a Friday afternoon, so he’d have the whole weekend to recover. He’d been trying to convince himself throughout the entire week that it would be okay, just like Harry said. He could suck it up and be brave, he was an _adult_ and he was _fearless_!

Except on the day of his appointment, once they’d checked in with the receptionist and sat waiting for their turn, Louis had himself stuffed into his husband’s lap and his body wrapped around Harry like a baby koala. The seats in the waiting area were for one person only, so it was a bit of a tight fit, and it was garnering stares from many of the other patients in the room, but Louis could hardly care. He clung desperately to Harry, and his tiny frame was trembling with nerves that could only be soothed by a certain green-eyed boy’s presence. 

“I’ve changed my mind now, I’m okay with taking my chances with infections and cysts… let’s just go home now?” Louis gave Harry his best puppy eyes, his blue orbs shining brilliantly. “Please?”

“Nuh uh.” Harry had his arms secured around Louis, firstly to comfort him, and secondly to make sure Louis couldn’t just randomly get up and run off. “It’s going to be fine, Lou, just take a couple of deep breaths for me.”

Louis buried his nose into the crook of Harry’s neck and breathed in deeply, relaxing slightly as he inhaled the familiar scent. He stayed silent for a few seconds and Harry, sensing Louis had calmed down a little, gently stroked Louis’ hair. “Feel better now?”

“No.” Louis lied stubbornly. He _was_ feeling a little better, but he would do anything to get the hell out of there. 

Harry cuddled Louis closer and rubbed his back tenderly, dotting a few kisses onto Louis’ hair. “You’re going to be okay, love. Do it for the ice cream?”

There were three giant tubs of mint chocolate ice cream - Louis’ favorite - in their fridge that Harry had bought for him, but Louis only got to eat them under the condition that he’d go ahead and do his wisdom teeth removal. It was terribly unfair— he was an adult and he had a job and he could eat ice cream whenever he liked, surgery or not! But at the same time, Louis didn’t want to upset or disappoint Harry, especially when his husband was only doing this because he was concerned about Louis’ wellbeing. “...Fine.”

“Yay.” Harry cheered while Louis scoffed grumpily, squeezing his eyes shut. _Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts._

“Mr. Louis Tomlinson, please?”

Louis squeaked and immediately clung onto Harry tighter— maybe he could pretend he was asleep, or maybe he couldn’t hear the receptionist? Maybe he could pretend he wasn’t called Louis Tomlinson and he was really called Fitzgerald Bibblechump or something, but of course Harry wasn’t having any of it.

“They called your name, Lou, it’s your turn now.” He began standing up and removed his arms from where they had been wrapped around Louis, forcing the smaller boy to stand and let go of Harry or else he would’ve fallen to the floor. “Think of all the ice cream and cuddles you’ll get when this is over, yeah? I love you.”

“Okay, love you too.” 

“Mr. Tomlinson, could you come with me, please?” The receptionist smiled at Louis politely and he squirmed, heart suddenly rabbiting quicker in his chest. He didn’t want to do this, especially since Harry wasn’t going to be there with him to hold his hand.

“Just a second, please.” Harry could feel Louis’ anxiousness and slipped an arm around his waist. “How long is the procedure? When should I come back to pick him up?”

“It usually takes around forty five minutes, so that would be a good time to go on,” the receptionist answered, and although she had a friendly nature to her, she was obviously getting a little impatient, going by how rapidly her fingers were tapping the clipboard. 

“I’ll be back in forty five minutes to come get you, then.” Harry squeezed Louis’ hip one last time and then his warm touch was gone, and he was stepping away from Louis and towards the door. 

“Hazza?” Louis called over his shoulder as he followed the receptionist down the hall. “Don’t be late, okay? I don’t wanna be in here any longer than I have to.”

“Of course, darling.” Harry blew Louis a little kiss. “I’d never be late.”

Harry was late, late, late.

His watch had read 01:07pm when he’d left the dentist’s office and now it read 01:49pm, which meant he now only had three minutes to make it back if he wanted to be on time— and he had to be on time, he’d promised Louis!

Harry had gone to the mall in search of a little gift to make Louis feel better after his surgery; he had been debating on whether he should buy a Spiderman figurine or a Yoda one for Louis’ collection and had lost track of time. He momentarily debated just buying both, but waiting in line to pay would take time and time was something Harry did not have much of, so he stuffed the figurines back onto the shelf and practically ran out of the store.

“Fuck, fuck, _fuck_.” It was already 01:51pm by the time Harry managed to get into his car, meaning he was definitely going to be late. Realistically, Louis would be fine staying at the dentist’s for ten more minutes— maybe his surgery wasn’t even over yet, but Harry still felt horrible. Louis had been so brave to do the wisdom teeth removal, especially since he’d hated dentists all his life, and the very least Harry could do was keep his promises and pick Louis up on time.

He stepped down on the accelerator and drove as fast as the law would allow it, making it back to the dentist’s office in a record eight minutes. Bursting through the front door, Harry spotted the receptionist at the front desk and gasped out breathlessly, “Am I late? Is my husband—?”

“You’re not late! Mr. Tomlinson’s surgery was actually finished a couple of minutes ago and he’s resting now, I’ll take you to him.”

Harry let out an almost cartoon-esque sigh of relief and his body visibly slumped. A few other patients were peering at him curiously because of his sudden entrance but he ignored them and walked with the receptionist into the clinic while trying to catch his breath. She led him to a small room, where Harry recognized his husband lying down on a chair, looking so tiny and small in his big sweater. Louis evidently heard their footsteps and lifted his head up slightly, his blue eyes only half-open.

“H-Hazza?”

“Hey, Lou.” He approached the chair and carefully brushed Louis’ fringe out of his face. The blue-eyed boy’s cheeks were swollen and there were pieces of gauze in his mouth, which gave Louis the appearance of a (very cute) chipmunk. “How are you feeling?”

“I fee’... I fee’ sheepy.” His eyes blinked open and close slowly, as if to prove his point. 

“He classifies as a nervous patient, so he gets sedation along with local anesthesia,” the receptionist explained from the door. “He might be a bit loopy and dazed and tired right now, you’ll have to stay with him until the anesthesia wears off.”

“Yeah, of course,” Harry said, just as Louis squinted and emitted a loud, “Pehh! W-wady wrong. Wou not woopy.” 

“Whatever you say, baby.” Harry interlaced Louis’ fingers with his own and turned to the receptionist, whispering a quick “Sorry about that” before he asked at his usual volume, “Is he free to go now?”

“Uh, yes, he is! Remember to take care of the wound, don’t eat anything for the next few hours and afterwards stick to soft foods for a couple days, call us if anything is wrong,” she rattled off. “If he’s in pain a painkiller works and ice can help with the swelling.”

“Okay, thank you very much.” Harry turned back to his husband and tugged his arm. “Up we get, Lou.”

“H-huh? Where we goin’?” Louis looked confused but nevertheless obeyed and slipped off the chair, swaying from the dizziness so Harry supported him with an arm around his waist. 

“We’re going home, darling.”

“Oh... ‘kay. Home.” 

Louis shuffled out of the room unhurriedly, feeling a bit woozy and disorientated from the anesthesia, just like the receptionist said he would. He allowed Harry to lead him out into the parking lot, trusting his husband to take him wherever he needed to go since his head was a little too fuzzy to work that out just now.

“Here’s the car, babe. Can you get in by yourself?”

“C… car…”

“I’ll take that as a no, then.” Harry opened the door on the passenger side, then put both his hands on either side of Louis’ waist so he could hoist him up. “One, two, three… in we go!”

Louis let out a tiny shriek at the sudden movement but managed to clamber into the seat and let Harry buckle his seatbelt for him.

“Are we comfy?” Harry reached out to adjust Louis’ seatbelt and made sure it wasn’t digging into his neck.

“Hmm… ‘omfy, ‘omfy!” Louis gabbled, wriggling around in his seat. That was enough confirmation for Harry and he closed the car door, accidentally making Louis flinch at the loud sound of the door snapping shut. 

“Sorry angel, I didn’t mean to close the door so hard,” Harry said when he climbed into the driver’s seat, shutting the door cautiously this time so it wouldn’t be so loud. 

“Hazza loud loud loud!” Louis stuck his fingers into his ears. “Rude.”

Harry had to stifle a laugh. “Sorry. Many apologies to my dear Mr. Tomlinson.”

“S’okay… a’ology a’epted.” Louis removed his fingers from his ears and instead tried to poke at his face, Harry barely intercepting in time. “C-can’t fee’ mah mouf, Hazza.” 

“That’s because of the anesthesia. Don’t touch your face, okay? You need to give it time to heal.”

Louis reluctantly put his hands down. “Mouf so full.’

“That’s because you’ve got gauze in your mouth, boo.” Harry started the car and pulled out of their parking spot. “You tired?”

“Sheepy.” 

“You can sleep at home, but stay awake for a little longer, yeah? Just until we get home.”

Louis scrunched up his nose adorably, but said, “ ‘Kay.”

“How was the surgery? D’you remember anything?”

Louis furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a few seconds, then shook his head. “Nope. Nopety nope. Nopety nopety nope. Wha’ s-shur-shur-jerry?” 

“They took your wisdom teeth out for you, remember?” 

“T-teefies?” Louis’ eyes suddenly welled up with tears and Harry glanced over at him, alarmed. 

“What’s wrong?”

“They took mah teefies!” Louis wailed, seemingly not tired all of a sudden. “A-an’ they took teefies that make me _smart_! Didn’t say bye!”

“Aww, baby, they took your teethies to help you! And just ‘cause they’re called wisdom teeth doesn’t mean they make you smarter.”

“But… _teefies_!” Louis lamented. “Miss ‘em.”

“But they were hurting your mouth,” Harry reminded him. “And now they’re gone you’ll feel so much better.”

“Really? Bad teefies?”

“Mhmm.”

“Bad teefies bye,” Louis mumbled to himself, fiddling with the hem of his sweater. “Bad teefies bye.”

Louis babbled some more nonsense on the way home, and Harry was extremely endeared by all of it. Louis was going to be so embarrassed when the anesthesia wore off and Harry told him about all the things he’d said, which increased Harry’s amusement even more. Was it strange that he wanted to see his husband doped up on meds more often? 

“Harreh… tell yah se’ret.”

“Yes?”

Louis leaned over, cupped a hand around Harry’s ear and proceeded to say a bunch of gibberish before he fell back into his seat and burst into peals of high-pitched giggles.

Harry watched him with a soft, fond expression on his face. “God, you’re so cute, Lou.”

Louis stopped giggling and growled - actually _growled_ \- at Harry. “N-not cute. Shaddup, Harreh.”

“You _are_ absolutely adorable. I’d pinch your cheeks right now if they weren’t so swollen.” 

Louis scowled at his husband, crossing his arms and trying (and failing) to look menacing. He kept this act up for only a minute, then returned to being his bubbly, loopy self, bopping his head along to nothing in particular. “Baa baa bla’sheep hav’ yah any wool—”

“We’re home now, Lou,” Harry interrupted. “Do you need me to help you out of the car?”

“ ‘Elp, ‘elp,” Louis repeated. So once Harry had gotten out of the car, he walked over to the passenger side and lifted Louis out. As soon as Louis’ feet hit the ground, though, the small boy threw himself at Harry. “No! Harreh carreh.” 

“You want me to carry you?”

Louis nodded wordlessly.

Playfully, Harry bowed and carefully scooped Louis up in his arms. “Your wish is my command, boo.”

It was a bit of a struggle to open the door while carrying his husband, but Harry managed to do it without any big mishap, and they were immediately greeted by the sound of Clifford’s paws pattering across the floor towards them.

“Curly!” Louis squealed when he saw his dog, pointing a finger of wonder at Clifford. 

“Mhmm, Clifford’s got curly fur,” Harry acknowledged absentmindedly as he toed off his shoes and tried to take Louis’ off as well.

“Curly! Wike you!” Louis’ finger found itself pointing at Harry’s face instead.

“Clifford’s a handsome boy, so I’m going to take that as a compliment.” Harry shut the door behind them and carried Louis towards the couch, Clifford trailing close behind. “We’re your curly boys, aren’t we?”

“Curly boys,” Louis agreed, rubbing his cheek against the soft fabric of Harry’s shirt. “Hazza?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re very pretty.”

“How very kind of you to say, love.” Harry tried to hide his smile behind his arm and settled Louis down onto their couch.

“Nobo’y pretty like mah Hazza. Nobo’y!”

“You’re so sweet, little one.”

“M-marry me, pwease?”

This was officially too much cuteness for Harry, and his heart was narrowly escaping bursting. “I’m afraid you might be a little too late to propose.”

“T-too late?” Louis’ eyes filled with tears again, and he looked even more heartbroken than when he found out his teeth had been taken out.

“Yeah. I proposed to you three years ago, remember?”

“Pr’pose to me?” 

“Yeah. See this?” Harry held up his left hand, where a ring sat on his ring finger. “It’s my wedding ring.”

“You married?”

“Yes. I’ve been married for nearly two years now.”

“To who?” The look of confusion upon Louis’ face was almost comical and Harry smothered his laughter by pressing a kiss to Louis’ temple.

“To _you_ , boobear. To my own Louis Tomlinson.” Harry lifted up Louis’ left hand, and showed him his ring finger, which displayed a ring just like Harry’s one. “See, you’ve got a wedding ring too.”

“Ohh. Pretty!” Louis stared at his ring, then Harry’s, in amazement. “Ring ring.”

“Speaking of rings, darling, I’d better take yours off, in case you swallow or lick it or something.” Harry moved to slip Louis’ wedding ring off, but he was met by a loud screech from Louis.

“No! N-no!” Louis ripped his hand away from Harry’s desperately. “W-wanna stay married!”

“Oh, Lou. Taking off your wedding ring doesn’t mean we won’t be married anymore,” Harry tried to explain. “You take yours off all the time when you shower. I do too.”

“R-really? Promise?” Louis looked up at Harry innocently. “Stay married?”

“I promise. You’re not getting rid of me so easily, baby.”

“ ‘Kay, ‘kay.” Louis held his hand out again, letting Harry take his ring and slip it into his pocket for safekeeping. “Hubbie.” 

“Mhmm, I’m your husband.” Harry sat down on the couch next to Louis and grabbed the blanket that was hanging on the back. “You sleepy?”

“Nuh uh.” Louis shook his head vehemently, but his droopy eyes said otherwise.

“Thought you said you were _sheepy_ , baby.” Nevertheless, Harry helped Louis lie down and draped the blanket over him, tucking him in and making sure he was warm and comfortable. “Doesn’t a nap sound lovely?”

“No naps. Wanna cuddle wi’ Hazza, pwease?” Louis stretched out his arms and Harry couldn’t resist. He lay down next to Louis and cuddled him close, so they’d both fit on the couch. Clifford didn’t want to miss out on any action and jumped up onto the couch too, and curled up at the end of it.

“You can cuddle with me and take a nap at the same time, you know.” Harry’s breath tickled Louis’ neck so the smaller boy shied away from the feeling, and Harry pouted. “ _Hey_. Come back here, Lou.” 

“Your mouf tickly,” Louis accused.

“Is it?” In retaliation, Harry bent down and covered Louis’ neck with kisses, making him squeak. 

“ _Hazzie!_ ” 

“Okay, okay, ‘m sorry.” Harry stopped his kiss attack and buried his face into the crook of Louis’ neck. 

“Mah mouf so full,” Louis complained, his cheek squishing onto the sofa. “Don’t wike it.”

“I think it’s okay to take the gauze out of your mouth now, shall we do that?”

“Pwease.”

Harry sat up and propped Louis up too, so he could better reach his mouth. “Say ‘ah’.” 

“Ahhh.” Louis opened his mouth and Harry peered in, spotting slightly bloody pieces of gauze at the back. He reached his fingers in to pull them out, but just as he got hold of the first piece of gauze, Louis’ teeth snapped down on his finger.

“Ow!” Harry retracted his hand quickly. “Lou! You’re not allowed to eat me.”

“You yummy. Smell nice. Like home.”

Harry couldn’t exactly stay mad at that. “That’s very nice, but _don’t_ bite me. Say ‘ah’ again, honey.”

Louis opened his mouth accordingly and let Harry take the rest of the gauze out, but he couldn’t resist nipping on Harry’s fingers one more time when Harry took the last piece of gauze out.

“Baby, _no._ ” 

“Bite you!” Louis said happily, looking so adorable Harry found himself once again unable to be mad at him.

“Shh now. You need to take a nap and rest.”

“You stay, right?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna stay here and cuddle you and I’ll be here when you wake up, don’t worry. Go to sleep, baby.” 

Louis sniffled slightly. “Sheep.” 

“That’s it, close your eyes.” Harry reached up a hand to play with Louis’ hair— he knew this was one of Louis’ absolute favorite things and it was bound to help him fall asleep. “I love you, Lou.”

“Hmm… l-lub you…” Louis was in a blissful paradise with Harry’s hand carding through his soft strands, and he was soon lulled into a deep sleep.

When he awoke a few hours later, Harry was, as he promised, still cuddling him on the couch. Clifford had gotten bored and walked away, but Harry remained faithfully by Louis’ side, still occasionally stroking Louis’ hair. He’d managed to turn on the TV and was watching a random program on a low volume, plus he’d managed to wiggle his phone out of his pocket and had texted a few close family members and friends to update them on Louis’ condition. 

The anesthesia had worn off a bit and Louis was a bit more clear-minded when he sat up and rubbed his eyes. The clock read 05:34pm and his stomach was growling— he hadn’t eaten anything since very, very early in the morning, in preparation for his surgery.

“Oh, you’re awake, Lou.” Harry had a hand splayed across Louis’ tummy lazily. “Hungry?”

“Hungy.” Louis lay back down and buried his face into Harry’s chest. “Food?”

“Mm. Okay, let’s have an early dinner. I made you some soup and mashed potatoes last night, we can reheat them. How does that sound?”

“Can I eat ice cream?”

“Boo, you can’t have ice cream for dinner.”

“Ice cream… you promised.” Louis looked up at Harry with big, blue puppy eyes. “Mint choc’ chip. Please?”

Harry felt himself soften and sighed, admitting today was a special occasion and he’d relent just this once. “Alright, I’ll go get you your ice cream.” Harry pried Louis off of him and disappeared into the kitchen, and Louis, deciding that anywhere Harry was was also where Louis should be, hopped off the couch and stumbled after his husband.

“Wait fo’ me.” 

“No, no, Lou, just stay on the couch, you need to rest.” Harry turned and tried to usher Louis back onto the couch, but the blue-eyed boy stayed steadfast.

“Wanna stay wit’ you. Hazza make pain go ‘way.”

Harry frowned. “Pain?”

Louis made a little snuffling noise and pointed to his jaw. “Hurtin’ now.”

“My poor Lou,” Harry cooed sympathetically. “Is the anesthesia wearing off now so your mouth is hurting?”

“I fink so.”

“I’ll get some pain relief for you too, then. Just sit down and rest, okay?” Harry scooped Louis up and plopped him right back onto the couch. “Wisdom teeth removal is ruthless stuff and I don’t want you physically exerting yourself too much.”

“Fine,” Louis grumbled reluctantly and grabbed the blanket to wrap around himself again. 

Harry returned in a few minutes - a few minutes too long for Louis’ taste - with pain relief, a glass of water, and a tub of mint chocolate ice cream to find Louis and Clifford snuggled together on the couch, Louis with the blanket draped over his head and entire body.

“Aww, look at my two favorite boys.” Harry beamed at the sight and set down his cargo onto the coffee table. “Do you think there’s space for me to join in the cuddle session?” 

“Harry cuddles!” Louis held up his blanket, inviting Harry to sit under it. “Want cuddles.”

“I did promise you all the cuddles and attention your heart desires, didn’t I?” Harry crawled under the blanket compliantly and sneaked his arms around Louis, tugging him onto his lap. “Although I must say, that wasn’t a very hard promise to make. I’d give you cuddles all day, every day if I could.” 

“Mmm.” Louis curled up into a tiny ball and nestled closer to Harry. “Comfy.”

Louis downed the pain relief quickly, eager to get onto eating his yummy ice cream. Harry thought he looked absolutely adorable wrapped up in blankets with a look of childish delight on his face as he dug his spoon into the minty ice cream. “Careful, it’s fresh out the fridge so it might be a bit hard and really cold,” Harry warned, watching Louis try to force his spoon into the hard, frozen surface of the ice cream. 

“Dumb fridge,” Louis muttered, whacking the spoon against the ice cream several times. “Wait… Hazza.”

“Yes, angel?”

“I... I have twenty eight teefies now!” Louis tilted his head up to look at Harry cutely. 

“You do?” Harry racked his brain for the biology knowledge he’d learned so many years ago about the human body. “Oh wait - you do!”

“Twenty eight!” Louis babbled joyfully.

“You and your obsession with that number.” Harry shook his head fondly and pressed a kiss to his excited husband’s temple. “I love you.”

“Love Harry too,” Louis proclaimed, and Harry’s heart melted. Louis finally managed to wedge his spoon into the ice cream and held a spoonful up to Harry’s face. “Want some?”

“No, it’s okay.” He nudged the spoon away with a finger and pushed it back in front of Louis’ face. “I’ll have the soup and potatoes for dinner.” 

“Yah sure? Sharin’ is carin’.”

“I’m sure. Enjoy your ice cream, you were so brave today and you deserve to have all of it, Lou.” Harry tucked his chin over Louis’ fluffy hair and rubbed Louis’ sides gently. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll eat later.”

“ ‘Kay. Bon appétit!” Louis shoved the spoon into his mouth and hummed cheerfully at the taste. “Delishous.” 

By the time Louis woke up the next morning, the anesthesia had completely worn off and he was no longer loopy— rather, the pain in his jaw had caught up to him and he was feeling quite cantankerous. 

“Harry. _Harry._ ” Disorientated from sleep, he patted around the bed in order to find his husband. He finally succeeded when his hand accidentally slapped down on Harry’s face, waking the other boy up almost immediately.

“Wha- what?” Harry propped himself up and looked around groggily. “Lou?”

“Harry— ow.” Louis winced when a particularly sharp pain shot through his mouth. “I feel like shit.” 

“I take it the anesthesia’s all gone?” Harry rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple times while his eyes adjusted to the light. “S’okay, angel, I can go get you some pain relief and ice.”

“Okay. Just— in a bit.” Louis rolled over and pressed his face into Harry’s bare chest. “Ugh. Was I embarrassing yesterday?”

“Well…” Harry drawled, dragging the word out to tease Louis a little bit. “Not really, actually. You were just really, really cute.”

“Shut yer yap, Harreh. I am not _cute_.” 

“You forgot we were married and tried to propose to me,” Harry continued. “And you nearly cried because they took your _smart teefies_ out.” 

“Oh no,” Louis groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “I’m never doing a surgery ever again.”

“No, c’mon, boo.” Harry bent down and pried Louis’ fingers gently away from his face. “You were so sweet and adorable, my little Lou.”

Louis scrunched his nose up and scowled. He didn’t like being called _cute_ , because he was an adult for God’s sake! But those types of compliments were somewhat acceptable (Louis even liked it sometimes— he’d never admit it, though) coming from his one and only Harry. “...Whatever.”

“Love you too.” Harry dropped a kiss onto Louis’ forehead. “Now, if you don’t mind, you can roll off of me and I’ll go get your pain relief and ice.”

“I said in a bit, please.” Louis cuddled closer to Harry. “I wanna cuddle for a little longer.”

“We can cuddle after you take your pain meds, you know—”

“Shh.” Louis scrabbled a hand up and tried to cover Harry’s mouth, only managing to cover Harry’s cheek instead. “Five minutes.”

“Anything you want, darling.” Harry removed Louis’ hand from his cheek and lay down again, smiling softly. “Anything you want.”

Louis mumbled something Harry couldn’t really interpret and relaxed into Harry’s side, sniffling. Harry settled his arms around Louis’ tummy and yawned - he’d stayed up longer than usual last night trying to help his sugar-high-from-eating-ice-cream husband into his pajamas and convince him to go to sleep - but he’d never trade it for anything in the world. Nobody was as sweet and charming and kind like his Louis.

Nobody in this damn world.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed the fic, please let me know your thoughts on it! if you enjoyed this, it would be absolutely amazing if you could leave comments and kudos!
> 
> you can reblog this fic [here](https://the28thofseptemberr.tumblr.com/post/645054262866575360/in-this-damn-world-teen-up-62k-louis-gets-his), and you can find me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/the28thofseptemberr), [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/the.28th.of.septemberr/?hl=en), and [wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/user/meredithflynn) (among other places). this fic is also available on [wattpad](https://www.wattpad.com/story/261333134-in-this-damn-world-l-s).


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